Meet the 2018 UTS University Innovation Fellows!

Gavan Huang, James Ryan, Laurence Presland and Alastair Bate, all third and fourth year students in the Faculty of Engineering and IT, are acquiring skills and experience to improve the UTS student experience.

UTS is the only Australian university to participate in Stanford University’s d.school, which developed design thinking as a way of unlocking creativity, encouraging empathy, definition, ideation, prototyping and testing for innovative solutions to real world issues.

In March, our four students will head to Stanford for an intensive series of experiential workshops and industry visits throughout Silicon Valley, joining 200+ other students from ten countries. All are chosen for a demonstrable interest in entrepreneurship, innovation, and creativity, and aim to inspire fellow students and make a positive impact on campus.

James (Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering) is a team leader and Treasurer of RoboSoc, has worked with PAAS, delivered Arduino workshops with the Engineering Society, and sees the Fellowship as a great way to meet new people and potential collaborators.

Laurence (Information Technology / Creative Intelligence and Innovation) is the President of the BCII Connect Society, coach at STEAMpunk Girls and Head Teacher at Code Camp, and is looking forward to visiting Google HQ – where he has ambitions to work someday!

Alastair (Electrical Engineering) is President of UTSConnect and was Secretary of PAAS, and is excited to see the Prototyping Room at d.school. Both he and Laurence are UTS Hatchery alumni.

Currently, they are involved in a six week online training, using their student perspective to analyse campus issues and identify where improvements can/should be made. The next stage is a consultation with a broad range of stakeholders to prioritise key areas and consider solutions.

Then they will be heading to Stanford for collaboration with their international peers across disciplines, exploring new ways of engaging students using design thinking.